Reformulated herbicide approved for pasture use

A herbicide combination designed for use against broadleaf weeds and invasive plants on rangeland and pastures has been approved for a new "co-formulated" solution.

The Calgary-based Canadian arm of Dow AgroSciences has picked up registration for Restore II, a new incarnation of its herbicide tank-mix Restore, a broad-spectrum Group 4 product combining aminopyralid with 2,4-D.

Restore II’s "co-formulated solution… does not require mixing, making it easy to use," the company said in a release.

Product manager Mark Alberts described the new product as a "an effective alternative to quick-fixes such as mowing or breaking land."

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An application "will increase grass production through controlling invasive and broadleaf weeds which can rob the productivity of pastures," he said.

Restore II, the company said, is designed from Dow AgroSciences’ "reduced risk" aminopyralid chemistry, a growth-regulating product with a "favourable environmental and toxicological profile compared to other industry standards."

The new product, Dow said, is "safe on grass and livestock when used according to the label (and) there are no grazing restrictions for livestock in fields where it has been applied."

Restore, the company said, works like a natural growth-regulating hormone found only in plants and not found in livestock and wildlife.

Mammals don’t metabolize Restore, so when ingested, the product is "rapidly excreted from the body in the urine, and thus does not accumulate."

That said, producers using Restore will need to take "appropriate measures to prevent application or drift onto plants and trees that are not intended for control."